Mounting for panels



Feb. 18, 1936. L. e. HUNTER MOUNTING FOR PANELS Filed March 13, 1934 INVENTOR o flm ATTORNEY5 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES MOUNTING FOR PANELS Lytle Gale Hunter, Flushing, N. Y.

Application March 13, 1934, Serial No. 715,277

12 Claims. (01.20-56.51)

This invention relates to a novel and improved Fig. 1 is a face view of a panel having my invention applied thereto;

Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views taken approximately on the line 8'-6 of Fig. 1 and showing the difierent steps in the assemblage of the various parts;

Fig. '7 is a section on the line l-'| of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of one corner of a panel having my invention appliedthereto;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing a sharp corner instead of a rounded one as in Fi 8.

My invention has particular utility when em- 2 ployed with frames having openings to be closed by glass or other panels and more particularly still where such frames are made of steel so that it is difficult to provide fastening means which can be readily installed and removed and which at the same time shall have ability to hold the panel firmly in place without becoming loose. In the illustrated embodiment, I have shown a frame I havingan opening closed'by a panel 2 which is of smaller size than the-opening. The

30 .rame adjacent the edge of the panel comprises front and rear walls 3 and 4, the edge 5 of the front wall bounding the opening which is closed by the panel and which, as noted above, is of larger size than the panel.

35 In further description, I shall for convenience refer to the edge of the panel as a basis for comparison and shall use such expressions as inner and outer to describe the relation of different parts with respect to the edge of the panel. That 40 is to say, parts described as disposed inwardly of the panel edge are those parts nearer the center of the panel than that edge. Similarly, the wall 3, I will term for convenience the front wall, and the wall 4 the rear wall of the frame surrounding the opening.

" Extending forwardly from the rear wall 4.is a shelf 6 havingan upturned flange l atits forward edge. The top edge of this flange is substantially opposite the edge 5 of the wall 3,

50 and the wall 3 and the flange l define a throat between them. The shelf 6 may conveniently be provided with a rear flange 8 extending upwardly and in close contact with the wall 4 to which it may be secured as by spot welding, and the 55 walls 3 and 4 may be integral with the bottom 9 which, with the walls 3 and 4, forms a channelshaped member.

The invention will probably be best understood by now describing the insertion ofa panel in the frame opening, and for that purpose reference is made to Fig. 3 wherein I have shown a backing strip in having a foot ll adapted to fit onto the shelf 6 between the flanges I and 8 thereof. As shown in Fig. 3, in which the strip is shown substantially in its normal condition, the width of m the foot is greater than the distance between these flanges l and 8, so that it must be compressed when placed in position therebetween. The backing strip is likewise provided with a narrow neck l2 connecting the foot to'a head It 1 having a shoulder l4 adapted to contact with the upper edges of the wall 4 and flange 8. The flange 8 is provided with a plurality of forwardly extending lugs I 5 which may conveniently be struck out of the metal of which the flange is made, as plainly shown in Figs. 2 to 7, inclusive. The backing strip' Ill as appearing. in Fig. 3

has been forced outwardly into such a position that the heel N5 of the foot engages beneath the lugs I5, and-the toe ll of the foot contacts with the top edge of the flange l. The shoulder l4 also engages the edge of the rear wall 4. The toe I1 is then forced down against the shelf 6, where it is held by the flange '1, between which and.

the rear wall the entire foot is thus compressed,

as shown in Fig. 4;

' The next step is shown in Fig. 5, wherein the panel 2 is placed in position against the head 13 of the backing strip and is rested upon the toe H.

The final step is shown in Fig. 6,.wherein a facing strip I8 is forced into position against the front face of the panel 2. This strip I8 is the same in all essential particulars as that more fully shown, described, and claimed in my aforew said Patent 1,891,932, to which reference is made 0 for further details thereof. For the presentpurposes, it is probably sufiicient to say that this strip is compressed between the edge 5 of the wall 3 and the front face of the panel ,2, and that.

it has a foot l9 which engagesbeneath the shelf 6 to prevent inward displacement. j I

When in the position shown in Fig. 6, it will be seen that because of the compression of the facing strip, the panel is forced rearwardly against the backing strip I0, and the backing strip is thus placed under compression between the panel and the rear wall 4. The narrow neck 12 per-'- mits a certain bending of the head l3 backwardly, and this increases the pinching action which takes place between the shoulder l4 and the top edge of the rear wall 4. In other words, this shoulder l4 and the heel l6 act in opposite directions against the upper edge of the wall 4 and the lower edges of the lugs l5, respectively. The distance between the heel and the shoulder is such as to normally give such a pinching action even when the panel is not in place, and then when the panel is put in place and the fac ing strip is also applied, this pinching action is increased. The panel edge is shown as in contact with the toe I! of the foot, and it will be seen that the thickness of this toe is greater than the depth of the flange I, so that the panel will not come in contact with that flange.

The above described construction is one which is particularly adapted to use where it is desired to quickly place in position and firmly hold a glass panel in a metal frame. The use of adhesive is avoided, and the panel is tightly held between two strips which are: preferably of soft rubber or rubber composition. The two strips l0 and I8 may be placed in position very readily by starting one end thereof in a manner more fully described in my aforesaid Patent 1,891,932, in which the putting in place of the facing strip is fully described. The backing strip is placed in position in a similar manner to said patent, the heel l6 being snapped under the lugs I5 and the toe I! being pressed into the space rearwardly of the flange 1 in a very expeditious manner.

The construction is likewise one which is of advantage where the frame opening is provided with rounded corners, such as shown in Fig, 1 where the numeral 20 designates two lower corners of relatively short radius, and the numeral 2| designates two upper corners of relatively large radius. This figure is intended to show the flexibility of the invention and its adaptability to corners of different radii. I have shown two sections 22 and 23 of the facing strips meeting at the points 24 and 25. If desired, one continuous strip may, of course, be used in place of the two, and what I have just said about the facing strip is, of course, true of the backing strip. The construction of the shelf 6 and parts integral therewith is such that it likewise may be carried around a corner, as shown in Fig. 8.

On: the other hand, the invention is of equal applicability to a square, sharp corner such as shown in Fig. 9, where two separate facing strips 26 and 21 are shown meeting at such a corner. The backing strips will, of course, meet in a like manner at that corner.

Another advantage of the invention is that the shoulder cover any exposededges of metal walls, such as the wall 4, against the edge of which the shoulder l4 is tightly pressed. The same is true of the edge 5 of the front wall 3 against which the facing strip is likewise tightly pressed, as set forth in my aforesaid Patent 1,891,932.

While I have shown the invention as embodied ina specific form, it is to be understood that various changes in details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself except by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping the panel, a backing strip of resilient compressible material disposed between said panel and that described in I I4 may conveniently be used to posed between said panel and said rear wall, interlocking elements on said strip and rear wall securing the strip to the wall by the resilience of the material of the strip, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, the means holding said facing strip in place on the frame. I

2. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping the panel, a backing strip of resilient compressible material dissaid rear wall, interlocking elements on said strip and rear wall securing the strip to the wall by the resilience of the material of the strip, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in place on the frame, both of said strips being under substantial compression between the panel and the frame.

3. In combination, a frame having an'opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel .and the rear wall overlapping the panel, a backing strip of resilient compressible material disposed between said panel and said rear wall and under substantial compression therebetwcen, interlocking elements on said strip and rear wall securing the strip to the wallby the resilience of the material of the strip, a facing strip of resilient compressible, material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in place on the frame.

4. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping the panel, forwardly extending lugs on said rear wall, a backing strip of resilient compressible material having a foot extending beneath said lugs, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in .place on the frame.

5. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one'disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping he panel, forwardly extending lugs on said rear wall, a backing strip of resilient compressible material having a foot extending beneath said lugs, a shoulder on said strip overlying the inner edge of said rear wall, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in place on the frame.

6. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping the panel, a shelf extending forwardly from said rear wall and having an inturned flange adjacent the edge of said panel, a backingstrip of resilient compressible material having a foot disposed between said rear wall and said flange and thicker than the width of said flange and having a head engaging the rear face of said panel and compressed between said rear face of the panel and said rear wall, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in place on the frame.

7. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, said frame adjacent the edge of the panel comprising two walls, one disposed forwardly and the other rearwardly of the panel and the rear wall overlapping the panel, a shelf extending forwardly from said rear wall, a backing strip of resilient compressible material having a foot supported on said shelf and having a head compressed between said rear wall and the rear face of the panel, a relatively narrow neck connecting said head to said foot, a facing strip of resilient compressible material engaging the front face of the panel opposite the backing strip, and means holding said facing strip in place on the frame,

8. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, the frame adjacent the edge of said panel comprising front and rear walls, the rear wall overlapping the panel, a shelf extending forwardly from said rear wall to a point adjacent the edge of said panel, the front edge of said shelf being spaced from said front wall to form a throat therebetween, a resilient facing strip of compressible material extending through said throat and having a foot engaging the outer surface of the shelf, and a resilient backing strip of compressible material disposed between the rear face of the panel and the rear wall and having a toe extending between the edge of the panel and the shelf.

9. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, the frame adjacent the edge of said panel comprising front and rear walls, the rear wall overlapping the panel, a shelf extending forwardly from said rear wall to a point adjacent the edge of said panel, the front edge of said shelf being spaced from said front wall to form a throat therebetween, a resilient facing strip of compressible material extending through said throat and having a foot engaging the outer surface of the shelf, a resilient backing strip of compressible material disposed between the rear face of the panel and the rear wall and having a toe extending between the edge of the panel and the shelf, and an inwardly extending flange on said shelf between which and the rear wall said foot is compressed, said flange being of less width than the thickness of the foot, whereby the panel will not engage thelflange.

10. In combination, a frame having an opening closed by a panel, the frame adjacent the edge of said panel comprising front and rear walls, the rear wall overlapping the panel, a shelf extending forwardly from said rear wall tofa point adjacent the edge of said panel, the front edge of said shelf being spaced from said front wall to form a throat therebetween, a resilient facing strip; of compressible material extending through said throat and having a foot engaging the outer surface of the shelf, a resilient backing strip of compressible material disposed be-- i tween the rear face of the panel and the rear wall and having a toe extending between the edge of the panel and the shelf, forwardly extending lugs [on said rear wall disposed inwardly of said shelf, said foot being received beneath said lugs, anda shoulder on said strip engaging the edge of said rear wall, the distance between said foot;

and said shoulder being less than the distance between the edge of the lug and the edge of the wall to cause the strip to bind against said edges when in place.

11. A backing strip for a panel, said strip being formed of resilient compressible material and comprising a foot having a toe and a heel, a neck narrower than said foot and extending upwardly from said foot and spaced from said toe, and a head on said neck and substantially as thick as the foot and extending forwardly over said toe.

12. A backing strip for a panel, said strip being formed of resilient compressible material and comprising a foot having a toe and a heel, a neck narrower than said foot and extending upwardly from said foot and spaced from said toe, and a head on said neck substantially as thick as the foot and extending forwardly over said toe and also extending rearwardly over said heel.

LYTLE GALE HUNTER. 

